Psathyrella conopilus - Conical Brittlestem

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Seen when they are moist after rain and glistening in the sunshine, a group of fresh Conical Brittlestems makes a truly wonderful display, grouped as they invariably are on compacted layers of twigs or buried wood of deciduous broadleaf trees. Like so many hygrophanous mushrooms, once the caps have dried they lose their lustre and become matt and much paler.

The tall, straight stems are helpful identifying features of these 'little brown mushrooms'.

Identification guide

Cap	2 to 3.5cm across, conical or sometimes bell-shaped; shiny red-brown when moist becoming matt grey-beige or ochre after drying out; margin finely striate.
Gills	Adnate or adnexed; crowded; edges serrated; greyish brown with white edges, turning very dark brown (almost black) as they age.
Stem	Appearing to be much too long for the size of cap: 7 to 14cm long and only 2 to 4mm in dia.; straight and vertical, or very nearly so; white; mostly silky smooth but more powdery near the apex and slightly downy towards the base; no ring.
Spore print	Very dark brown, almost black.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Among leaf litter beneath deciduous broadleaf trees, notably Beeches, and often along 'twiggy' roadside verges..
Season	June to November.
Occurrence	Common in most parts of Britain and Ireland.
Similar species	The Common Stump Brittlestem, Psathyrella piluliformis, which grows on dead hardwood, is similar but its caps are usually larger; it is paler when young and darkens with age.